US5334259A - Amorphous silicon solar cell and method of manufacture - Google Patents

Amorphous silicon solar cell and method of manufacture Download PDF

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US5334259A
US5334259A US07/942,830 US94283092A US5334259A US 5334259 A US5334259 A US 5334259A US 94283092 A US94283092 A US 94283092A US 5334259 A US5334259 A US 5334259A
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amorphous silicon
backside electrode
layer
solar cell
wet
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Takayuki Mizumura
Kenji Sawada
Naoki Kojima
Yasuyoshi Kawanishi
Masatoshi Otsuki
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Sanyo Electric Co Ltd
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Sanyo Electric Co Ltd
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Priority claimed from JP3314729A external-priority patent/JP2911277B2/ja
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Assigned to SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD. reassignment SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST. Assignors: KAWANISHI, YASUYOSHI, KOJIMA, NAOKI, MIZUMURA, TAKAYUKI, OTSUKI, MASATOSHI, SAWADA, KENJI
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/20—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof such devices or parts thereof comprising amorphous semiconductor materials
    • H01L31/202—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof such devices or parts thereof comprising amorphous semiconductor materials including only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/02—Details
    • H01L31/0224—Electrodes
    • H01L31/022408—Electrodes for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/022425—Electrodes for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier for solar cells
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/042—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells
    • H01L31/0445—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells including thin film solar cells, e.g. single thin film a-Si, CIS or CdTe solar cells
    • H01L31/046—PV modules composed of a plurality of thin film solar cells deposited on the same substrate
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/042—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells
    • H01L31/0445—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells including thin film solar cells, e.g. single thin film a-Si, CIS or CdTe solar cells
    • H01L31/046—PV modules composed of a plurality of thin film solar cells deposited on the same substrate
    • H01L31/0468—PV modules composed of a plurality of thin film solar cells deposited on the same substrate comprising specific means for obtaining partial light transmission through the module, e.g. partially transparent thin film solar modules for windows
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

  • This invention relates to an amorphous silicon solar cell and a method of its manufacture, and in particular to a method of manufacture of a see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell or an integrated type amorphous silicon solar cell,
  • An amorphous silicon solar cell is fabricated by forming thin layers of a transparent electrode, amorphous silicon, and backside electrode on a substrate. Vacuum evaporated aluminum with a film thickness of of 0.3 to 1 ⁇ m is principally used for the backside electrode.
  • a single cell of this type of solar cell has a voltage of 1 Volt or less.
  • a plurality of cells can be connected in series to attain a prescribed voltage.
  • the integrated type solar cell has been developed for connecting a plurality of cells in series. In this type of solar cell, a patterning process is used to pattern the transparent electrode, amorphous silicon (subsequently referred to as a-Si) layer, and backside electrode
  • a see-through type solar cell provided with grooves and perforations, that passes part of the incident light has been developed.
  • the method of manufacturing the see-through type solar cell includes forming thin layers of transparent electrode film, photovoltaic layer, and metallic layer backside electrode on a transparent substrate. Next, resist with a pattern of openings is formed on the metallic electrode layer, and holes and grooves are etched through the metallic electrode layer and then through the photovoltaic layer.
  • the photovoltaic layer after wet-etching the metallic electrode layer, the photovoltaic layer must be dry-etched. Therefore, the extremely troublesome operation of reloading substrates, from the cassette used for wet-etching the metallic electrode layer, into the tray used for dry-etching, must be performed. Further, since moisture remaining on the substrate after wet-etching must be sufficiently removed before insertion into the dry-etching apparatus, a long drying time is required. Still further, the vacuum system dry-etching apparatus is extremely expensive and is only capable of a limited through-put.
  • the first primary object of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned problems and provide an inexpensive method of manufacturing large quantities of amorphous silicon solar cells.
  • an amorphous silicon solar cell with an aluminum backside electrode cannot be patterned by wet-etching. The reason for this is that an aluminum backside electrode is etched away by NaOH or other alkaline solutions used to etch the a-Si layer.
  • This drawback is avoided by using an alkali resistant metal for the backside electrode.
  • Cu (copper) and Ag (silver) are alkali resistant metals. Metals such as Cu and Ag have high light reflectivity, and reflect light that penetrates through the a-Si layer to improve the solar cell's I sc (short circuit current) and P max (maximum power output). However, these metals have the drawback that they do not strongly bond with the a-Si layer and have not been of practical use in the manufacturing environment.
  • the second primary object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive, efficient method of mass producing amorphous silicon solar cells in which the backside electrode is strongly bonded to the a-Si layer.
  • the method of amorphous silicon solar cell manufacture of this invention comprises forming thin layers of transparent electrode, amorphous silicon, and backside electrode, in that order, on a transparent substrate.
  • An alkali resistant metal is used for the backside electrode.
  • the backside electrode and the amorphous silicon layer are wet-etched thereby opening holes and grooves that penetrate through these layers.
  • the backside electrode is attached to the a-Si layer via a metallic thin film attachment layer formed between the a-Si layer and the backside electrode.
  • the backside electrode, the metallic thin film attachment layer, and the amorphous silicon layer are wet-etched, thereby providing holes and grooves that penetrate through these layers.
  • FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an amorphous silicon solar cell fabricated by the method of manufacture of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell fabricated by the method of manufacture of the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of an integrated type amorphous silicon solar cell fabricated by the method of manufacture of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of a see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell fabricated by the method of manufacture of the present invention.
  • the a-Si layer can be etched sequentially after etching the backside electrode without the necessity of moisture removal or drying. Consequently, a sequential etching process can be performed which improves manufacturability.
  • an alkali resistant metal for the backside electrode, the problem of further etching the backside electrode when the a-Si layer is etched with alkaline solution is solved.
  • the method of amorphous silicon solar cell manufacture of the present invention forms the backside electrode layer on top of the a-Si layer via a metallic thin film attachment layer. Consequently, there are no special bonding characteristics required for the backside electrode with respect to the a-Si layer. Therefore, although metals such as Ag and Cu with excellent light reflection properties cannot be attached to the a-Si layer, they can be used as backside electrode materials. Furthermore, since the metallic thin film attachment layer providing bonding between the backside electrode and the a-Si layer is a thin layer, it has a high degree of transparency, and I sc (short circuit current) and P max (maximum power output) are improved by efficient light reflection by the backside electrode.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell shown is a laminate of thin layers of a transparent electrode 2, an amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer 3, and a backside electrode 5, on a transparent substrate 1 such as a glass plate.
  • This solar cell is fabricated in the following manner:
  • a transparent electrode 2 such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or SnO 2 is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 1 by a spray method, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), evaporation, ion plating, sputtering, or other film growth method.
  • ITO indium tin oxide
  • SnO 2 is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 1 by a spray method, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), evaporation, ion plating, sputtering, or other film growth method.
  • the backside electrode 5 is then formed over the entire surface of the a-Si layer 3. Metals such as Cu, nickel (Ni), or NiCu alloy are used for the backside electrode 5. The thickness of the backside electrode 5 film is approximately 1500 Angstroms.
  • the backside electrode 5 is then connected to the Ag paste 10 region by laser welding.
  • a resist layer 8 is applied and patterned. As shown in FIG. 1, the resist layer 8 allows numerous holes 6 and grooves 7 to be formed in the backside electrode 5 and a-Si layer 3 to make a see-through solar cell that passes part of the incident light.
  • FeCl 3 solution is then used to wet-etch part of the backside electrode 5.
  • HF ⁇ HNO 3 is used to pre-treat the exposed surfaces of the a-Si layer 3.
  • FIG. 1 A cross-section of the see-through openings of an amorphous silicon solar cell obtained by the above process is shown in FIG. 1.
  • Process step (8) above in which the surface of the a-Si layer 3 is treated with HF ⁇ HNO 3 solution, is to insure that etching with NaOH solution in the next step, (9), will occur. Specifically, if the a-Si layer surface is not pre-treated with HF ⁇ HNO 3 , an oxide film may form on the surface of the a-Si layer 3 preventing etching with NaOH.
  • HF, HBF 4 , or other aqueous solutions of fluoride compounds have a similar effect.
  • Ag, titanium(Ti), or chromium(Cr) can be used for the backside electrode 5.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell of this embodiment is fabricated in the same manner as Embodiment No. 1: (1) instead of using Cu, Ni, or Ni-Cu alloy for the backside electrode 5, a three layer Ti/Cu/Ti (titanium/copper/titanium) backside electrode is used; (2) before process step (7) in Embodiment No. 1, the Ti surface of the backside electrode is etched with HF ⁇ HNO 3 : and (3) in step (8), the Ti layer between the a-Si layer and Cu layer is etched with HF ⁇ HNO 3 while pre-treating the surface of the a-Si layer 3.
  • the film thicknesses of the Ti/Cu/Ti are approximately 30, 1000, and 500 Angstroms, respectively.
  • the 30 Angstroms Ti layer improves attachment strength between the Cu and a-Si layers.
  • the 500 Angstroms Ti layer protects the Cu layer from being corroded and helps improve its durability.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell of this embodiment is fabricated in the same manner as Embodiment No. 1: (1) instead of using Cu, Ni, or Ni-Cu alloy for the backside electrode 5, a three layer Ti/Cu/Ni backside electrode is used; and (2) in process step (8) of Embodiment No. 1, the Ti layer between the a-Si layer and Cu layer is etched with HF ⁇ HNO 3 while pre-treating the surface of the a-Si layer 3.
  • the film thicknesses of the Ti/Cu/Ni are approximately 30, 1000, and 500 Angstroms, respectively.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell of this embodiment is fabricated in the same manner as Embodiment No. 3: (1) 500 Angstroms of CuNi is used in place of Ni in the backside electrode.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell is fabricated entirely with wet-etching process steps, and thus, can be mass produced with inexpensive processing apparatus.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell shown is a laminate of thin layers of a transparent electrode 22, an amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer 23, a metallic thin film attachment layer 24, and a backside electrode 25, on a transparent substrate 21 such as a glass plate.
  • This solar cell is fabricated in the following manner.
  • a transparent electrode 22 such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or SnO 2 is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 21 by the same methods listed in Embodiment No. 1.
  • the metallic thin film attachment layer 24 and backside electrode 25 are formed by sputtering.
  • the metallic thin film attachment layer 24 is a 12 Angstroms thick W (tungsten) or Cr (chromium) film.
  • the backside electrode 25 is a 2000 Angstroms Cu layer.
  • a 2000 Angstroms Ti layer 29 is provided on the surface of the backside electrode 25. This Ti layer protects the Cu backside electrode 25 from being corroded and improves its durability.
  • a resist layer 28 is applied and patterned as required. As shown in FIG. 2, the resist layer 28 allows numerous holes 26 to be formed in the backside electrode 25, the metallic thin film attachment layer 24, and the a-Si layer 23 to make a see-through type solar cell that passes part of the incident light.
  • FeCl 3 solution is used to wet-etch and remove part of the Cu backside electrode 25.
  • An alkaline solution such as NaOH is used to wet-etch the a-Si layer 23.
  • the separation test in Table 1 was measured on separately fabricated solar cells. For these solar cells, a transparent electrode layer was formed on the transparent substrate surface, and a 1 cm square a-Si layer, metallic thin film attachment layer, and backside electrode were formed on the surface of the transparent electrode layer. Solar cells fabricated by process steps (1) and (2) prior to hole etching were used for this separation test. The reason for using solar cells without hole openings for the separation test was because there is almost no loss of attachment strength of the backside electrode due to the holes. In the separation test, cellophane tape was attached to the surface of the 1 cm square backside electrode, then peeled off, measuring whether the backside electrode separated or not.
  • Embodiment No. 5 solar cells compared with prior-art devices solar cells with a sputtered Cu backside electrode on the a-Si layer with no metallic thin film attachment layer were also made for comparison in this table.
  • Solar cells with a backside electrode layered on the a-Si layer by thermal evaporation from a W boat were also fabricated for comparison.
  • amorphous silicon solar cells produced by Embodiment No. 5 have drastically reduced separation of the backside electrode from the a-Si layer, and exhibit I sc and P max values similar to prior-art devices with no metallic thin film attachment layer.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell of this embodiment is fabricated in the same manner as Embodiment No. 5. Characteristics of prototype solar cells made by this method are shown in Table 2.
  • FIG. 3 an integrated type solar cell is shown. This solar cell is fabricated by the following process.
  • a transparent electrode 32 is formed and patterned on the surface of a glass transparent substrate 31.
  • An a-Si layer 33 is formed over the entire surface.
  • a backside electrode 35 is formed over the entire surface of the a-Si layer 33 via a metallic thin film attachment layer 34.
  • Ti or W are used for the metallic thin film attachment layer 34.
  • Ag is used for the backside electrode 35.
  • a Ti layer 39 is formed on the surface of the backside electrode 35.
  • the backside electrode 35 is connected to the Ag paste 30 regions by laser welding.
  • thermosetting resin resist layer 38 is applied and given a prescribed patterning. As shown in FIG. 3, the resist layer 38 is for the purpose of establishing grooves 37 in the backside electrode 35, the metallic thin film attachment layer 34, and the a-Si layer 33 to make an integrated type solar cell.
  • HF ⁇ HNO 3 is used to etch the Ti layer 39.
  • HNO 3 is used to wet-etch the Ag backside electrode 35.
  • the metallic thin film attachment layer 34 is wet-etched.
  • An aqueous mixture of K 3 Fe(CN) 6 and NaOH solution is used to etch a W metallic thin film attachment layer 34, and HF ⁇ HNO 3 is used to etch a Ti metallic thin film attachment layer 34.
  • Characteristics of integrated type solar cells fabricated by this method are shown in Table 3.
  • the separation test was measured in the same manner as for Embodiment No. 5. Specifically, the separation test was performed using specially fabricated solar cells. These solar cells were made by forming a 1 cm square a-Si layer, metallic thin film attachment layer, and backside electrode on the surface of the transparent electrode layer attached to the transparent substrate surface. Solar cells without etched trenches were used. Further, V oc and P max in Table 3 are the computed one-cell equivalent values.
  • the see-through type amorphous silicon solar cell is a laminate of thin layers of a transparent electrode 42, an a-Si layer 43, a metallic thin film attachment layer 44, and a backside electrode 45, on a transparent substrate 41 such as a glass plate.
  • This solar cell is fabricated in the following manner.
  • a transparent electrode 42 is patterned on the surface of a glass transparent substrate 41.
  • An a-Si layer 43 is formed over the entire surface.
  • a backside electrode 45 is formed over the entire surface of the a-Si layer 43 via a metallic thin film attachment layer 44.
  • the metallic thin film attachment layer 44 is a 30 Angstroms thick Ti film.
  • the backside electrode 45 is a 1000 Angstroms Cu layer.
  • a 500 Angstroms Ti layer 49 is provided on the surface of the backside electrode 45.
  • This Ti layer protects the Cu backside electrode 45 from being corroded and contributes to improved durability.
  • the backside electrode 45 is connected to the Ag paste 40 regions by laser welding.
  • thermosetting resin resist layer 48 is applied and given a prescribed patterning. As shown in FIG. 4, the resist layer 48 is for the purpose of establishing holes 46 and grooves 47 in the backside electrode 45, the metallic thin film attachment layer 44, and the a-Si layer 43 to make an integrated, see-through type solar cell.
  • HF ⁇ HNO 3 is used to etch the Ti layer 49.
  • FeCl 3 solution is used to wet-etch the Cu backside electrode 45.
  • FeCl 3 solution is used for follow up etching of the Cu backside electrode 45.
  • step (11) undercut at the a-Si-backside electrode interface occurs, and the backside electrode 45 is exposed by etching of the a-Si layer 43.
  • the follow-up etch takes off the exposed regions of backside electrode 45, and thereby keeps the backside electrode 45 from touching and shorting out with the transparent electrode 42.
  • FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of hole and groove regions of the amorphous silicon solar cell obtained by this process.
  • Process step (9) above in which the surface of the a-Si layer 43 is treated with HF ⁇ HNO 3 solution, is to insure that etching with NaOH solution in the next step, (10), will occur. Specifically, if the a-Si layer surface is not pre-treated with HF ⁇ HNO 3 , an oxide film may form on the surface of the a-Si layer 43, preventing etching with NaOH.
  • a transparent electrode was formed and patterned on the surface of a glass transparent substrate.
  • a-Si layer was formed over the entire surface.
  • the a-Si layer thickness was 3500 Angstroms.
  • a backside electrode was layered over the entire a-Si surface.
  • the backside electrode was 1000 Angstroms of Cu.
  • sample substrates Two different sample substrates were produced by the above method. After etching the Cu backside electrode with FeCl 3 solution and prior to etching the a-Si layer with NaOH solution under the same etching conditions, the a-Si surface of sample A was pre-treated with HF ⁇ HNO 3 solution while that of sample B was not.
  • the amorphous silicon solar cell of this embodiment is fabricated in the same manner as Embodiment No. 8: in step (4) a 500 Angstroms thick Ni layer 49' is formed on the surface of the backside electrode 45; and in step (11) FeCl 3 solution is used for follow up etching of the Cu backside electrode 45 and the Ni layer 49' on its surface.
  • the amorphous silicon solar cell of this embodiment is fabricated in the same manner as Embodiment No. 8: in step (4) a 500 Angstroms thick NiCu layer 49" is formed on the surface of the backside electrode 45; and in step (11) FeCl 3 solution is used for follow up etching of the Cu backside electrode 45 and the NiCu layer 49" on its surface.
  • a NiCu layer 49" is formed on the surface of the backside electrode.
  • a strong magnet is required, so the apparatus is expensive. Further, the target utilization efficiency of Ferromagnetic targets is poor compared with non-ferromagnetic targets.
  • the non-ferromagnetic NiCu alloy was used for film formation in Embodiment No. 10. Since this NiCu alloy is also etched by FeCl 3 solution, it can be etched simultaneously with the backside electrode 45 using time same etch solution.
  • the composition of Ni and Cu in the NiCu alloy is preferably higher percent of Ni, but until the alloy's magnetic transformation, any composition of Ni and Cu results in the same effect from Embodiment No. 10.
  • the backside electrode is attached to the a-Si layer via a metallic thin film attachment layer.
  • metals which have strong bonding properties to both the a-Si layer and the backside electrode are used for the metallic thin film attachment layer.
  • alkali resistant metals are used for the metallic thin film attachment layer and the backside electrode. Etch holes and grooves are established through this a-Si layer, metallic thin film attachment layer, and backside electrode laminate by wet-etching. Consequently, either see-through or integrated type amorphous silicon solar cells can be efficiently and inexpensively fabricated in quantity by these processes using wet-etching.
  • etch holes and grooves can be processed efficiently and inexpensively by wet-etching is that alkali resistant metals are used for the metallic thin film attachment layer and the backside electrode, thereby preventing exposed edges of the metallic thin film attachment layer and the backside electrode from being etched by the a-Si layer etching solution.
  • the subsequent a-Si layer etch can be accomplished smoothly with NaOH solution. This eliminates nonuniformity in a-Si etching.
  • metals such as Ag and Cu with excellent light reflectivity can be solidly attached to the a-Si layer and used as the backside electrode.
  • the metallic thin film attachment layer between the a-Si layer and the backside electrode can be made extremely thin to drastically reduce light absorption by this film. Therefore, since light penetrating through the a-Si layer can be effectively reflected by the backside electrode, incident light is directed to the a-Si layer in a highly efficient manner, improving the critical solar cell parameters I sc and P max .

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Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP23018391 1991-09-10
JP3-230183 1991-09-10
JP3274146A JP2911272B2 (ja) 1991-09-10 1991-10-22 アモルファスシリコン太陽電池とその製造方法
JP3-274146 1991-10-22
JP3-314729 1991-11-28
JP3314729A JP2911277B2 (ja) 1991-11-28 1991-11-28 アモルファスシリコン太陽電池の製造方法

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WO2002053408A1 (fr) * 2000-12-28 2002-07-11 Robert Bosch Gmbh Dispositif de production de courant et de protection conter le soleil pour des vehicules a moteur
US20030106580A1 (en) * 2001-12-06 2003-06-12 International Rectifier Corp. Fast turn on/off photovoltaic generator for photovoltaic relay
GB2446838A (en) * 2007-02-20 2008-08-27 David John Ruchat Photovoltaic device and manufacturing method
US20090291296A1 (en) * 2008-05-21 2009-11-26 General Electric Company Component protection for advanced packaging applications
US20100167458A1 (en) * 2008-12-29 2010-07-01 Yong Woo Shin Thin film type solar cell and method for manufacturing the same
US20100236619A1 (en) * 2009-03-18 2010-09-23 Kabushi Kaisha Toshiba Light transmission type solar cell and method for producing the same
US20100258176A1 (en) * 2009-06-04 2010-10-14 Juwan Kang Solar cell and method of manufacturing the same
WO2010123196A1 (fr) * 2009-04-24 2010-10-28 Jusung Engineering Co., Ltd. Cellule solaire du type à film mince et procédé de fabrication de celle-ci
US20110114150A1 (en) * 2009-11-17 2011-05-19 Du Pont Apollo Ltd. Process for making solar panel and the solar panel made thereof
CN102403400A (zh) * 2010-09-13 2012-04-04 周星工程股份有限公司 薄膜型太阳能电池的制造装置和制造方法
KR101144066B1 (ko) * 2009-04-24 2012-05-23 주성엔지니어링(주) 박막형 태양전지 및 그 제조방법
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FR2997226A1 (fr) * 2012-10-23 2014-04-25 Crosslux Procede de fabrication d’un dispositif photovoltaique a couches minces, notamment pour vitrage solaire
WO2015028519A1 (fr) * 2013-08-30 2015-03-05 China Triumpf International Engineering Co., Ltd. Modules solaires à couches minces en partie transparentes
CN110061088A (zh) * 2019-04-26 2019-07-26 潮州市亿加光电科技有限公司 一种柔性基底的cigs太阳能薄膜电池及其制备方法
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TWI407574B (zh) * 2009-02-05 2013-09-01 Lg Display Co Ltd 薄膜太陽能電池及其製造方法
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WO2010123196A1 (fr) * 2009-04-24 2010-10-28 Jusung Engineering Co., Ltd. Cellule solaire du type à film mince et procédé de fabrication de celle-ci
US20100258176A1 (en) * 2009-06-04 2010-10-14 Juwan Kang Solar cell and method of manufacturing the same
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US8647910B2 (en) 2010-02-05 2014-02-11 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Masking pastes and processes for manufacturing a partially transparent thin-film photovoltaic panel
CN102403400B (zh) * 2010-09-13 2016-05-25 周星工程股份有限公司 薄膜型太阳能电池的制造装置和制造方法
CN102403400A (zh) * 2010-09-13 2012-04-04 周星工程股份有限公司 薄膜型太阳能电池的制造装置和制造方法
TWI555218B (zh) * 2010-09-13 2016-10-21 周星工程有限公司 薄膜型太陽能電池的製造裝置及其製造方法
WO2014064382A1 (fr) * 2012-10-23 2014-05-01 Crosslux Procédé de fabrication d'un dispositif photovoltaïque a couches minces, notamment pour vitrage solaire
FR2997226A1 (fr) * 2012-10-23 2014-04-25 Crosslux Procede de fabrication d’un dispositif photovoltaique a couches minces, notamment pour vitrage solaire
US9865756B2 (en) 2012-10-23 2018-01-09 Crosslux Method for manufacturing a thin-layer photovoltaic device, in particular for solar glazing
WO2015028519A1 (fr) * 2013-08-30 2015-03-05 China Triumpf International Engineering Co., Ltd. Modules solaires à couches minces en partie transparentes
CN104425637A (zh) * 2013-08-30 2015-03-18 中国建材国际工程集团有限公司 部分透明的薄层太阳能模块
US20220262965A1 (en) * 2015-03-27 2022-08-18 Sunpower Corporation Metallization of solar cells with differentiated p-type and n-type region architectures
CN110061088A (zh) * 2019-04-26 2019-07-26 潮州市亿加光电科技有限公司 一种柔性基底的cigs太阳能薄膜电池及其制备方法
CN110061088B (zh) * 2019-04-26 2021-03-23 潮州市亿加光电科技有限公司 一种柔性基底的cigs太阳能薄膜电池及其制备方法

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GB9218941D0 (en) 1992-10-21
DE4230338A1 (de) 1993-03-11
DE4230338B4 (de) 2008-05-15
FR2681189A1 (fr) 1993-03-12
GB2260220A (en) 1993-04-07
FR2681189B1 (fr) 1995-11-10

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